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A more confident General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra returned to Capitol Hill Wednesday, intent on convincing Congress that an internal investigation had thoroughly unearthed the failures that led to a deadly safety crisis and that she is already taking action to ensure such issues never occur again.

At her side was Anton Valukas, the former U.S. attorney who conducted the two-month investigation, interviewing 230 witnesses, reviewing 41 million documents and analyzing 23 terabytes of data. His 325-page report found a "pattern of incompetence and neglect" at GM, which failed for more than a decade to identify and fix a problem with ignition switches on 2.6 million Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars. If the key moves out of the "run" position, the car could stall and the airbag could be deactivated. GM knows of at least 13 deaths associated with the problem and says it will establish a victims' compensation fund for families who lost loved ones and those who were seriously injured.

Barra listed the litany of steps GM has taken to overhaul its safety review processes, from firing 15 employees deemed responsible for the failures and rewarding those who speak up about safety concerns to hiring a new safety chief who will, for the first time, involve senior management in decision-making about recalls and other safety issues.

But is it enough? After two and a half hours of testimony before a House Energy & Commerce subcommittee, there remained a nagging sense that the issues that led to the crisis can't be fixed with new safety policies or whistle-blower programs.

"I want to know how the culture of secrecy can be changed," said the ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado. "The jury is still out" on whether GM can change its culture, she said.

Barra acknowledged there is much work to be done on that score. "It's not done by words or slogans," she said. "It’s actions." She said the sharp increase in recalls by GM -- 44 recalls affecting more than 20 million vehicles in North America already this year -- demonstrates its new commitment to "putting the customer at the center of everything we do."

Still, her challenge is to break through the culture of fear within GM that causes employees to keep quiet about their concerns to avoid rocking the boat -- or losing their job. That issue was highlighted in this week's cover story in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which details how GM silenced a whistle-blower.

In a recent interview with Forbes, Barra talked about how difficult it is to change the culture, but said senior management has to be consistent and follow through on employee concerns. "It’s important that you answer them, either to say, ‘Wow, thank you for raising that issue,’ or ‘Hey, that’s not an issue and here’s why,’ so they don’t leave thinking, ‘I tried, and they didn’t listen to me. They just ignored me.’

Ultimately, though, it's up to Barra and her senior executive team to set the example for others to follow. "Because they can hear me, they can even believe me, but what is their daily work experience like? What is it like in their department?" she said.

No one sitting in on the company-wide meeting at which Barra disclosed the devastating findings from the Valukas investigation could mistake the gravity of her message. "I never want to put this behind us," she told employees. "I want to keep this painful experience permanently in our collective memories. I don’t want to forget what happened because I — and I know you — never want this to happen again.”